1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to printing. More specifically, the present invention relates to systems and methods for maintenance of printing equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Printing systems are widely deployed in businesses, offices, and homes today. The predominant engine technologies used are laser and inkjet. Printers are frequently used as dedicated machines that receive data files and produce printed output according to the data file received. Laser and inkjet print engines are also deployed in facsimile machines, photocopying machines, multi-functional peripheral devices, label printers, postage machines and other machines that print output on various media types.
Both laser systems and inkjet printing systems use a pigment to create images and text on media. In a laser printer the pigment is provided as toner. In an inkjet printer, the pigment is provided as ink. Generally, the pigment is stored in a reservoir or cartridge. When the pigment is consumed, the cartridge must be replaced.
While replacing empty cartridges with full cartridges seems to be a logical approach to maintaining a reserve of pigment in a printing system, it carries a number of disadvantages. From the perspective of the user/consumer, the empty cartridge is either thrown away or recycled in some fashion. A replacement cartridge must be available in order to replenish the pigment supply in the printing system. This implies that an inventory of full cartridges must be available within ready access. Inventories of reserve cartridges carry an associated cost. When pigment is needed, the user must not only purchase the needed pigment, but also the cartridge within which it is stored. This adds significantly to the cost of adding pigment.
From the perspective of the system supplier, this conventional approach to distributing pigment has certain disadvantages. The use of disposable cartridges is environmentally unfriendly and is thus undesirable from a xe2x80x98corporate citizenshipxe2x80x99 perspective. Inasmuch as the use of disposable cartridges adds to cost, the industry has addressed this issue to some extent through third party cartridge recycling companies. These companies gather empty cartridges from users, replenish the pigment supply, and sell the refilled cartridges back to users.
Unfortunately, this erodes market share from the printing systems suppliers. Further, even though third party refilled cartridges are available to users, this does nothing to reduce the need on the part of the users to maintain inventories of spare cartridges. And an inventory of cartridges must be maintained in accordance with a management scheme that provides for sufficient lead time to ensure that cartridges are available without allocating an inordinate amount of money and storage space to the requirement.
Inventory management thus involves tracking consumption and issuance of purchase requisitions and purchase orders. The management scheme must take into account some lead-time delay until cartridges are actually received into inventory. This requires some system for inventory and financial accounting. The process is particularly burdensome to small businesses where it is imperative to keep inventory costs at a minimum.
Thus, there is a need in the art for an improved apparatus and method for distributing pigment to users of printing systems.
The need in the art is addressed by the apparatus and methods of the present invention. A pigment cartridge filling apparatus is taught. The apparatus includes a removable print cartridge for storing pigment and dispensing pigment in a printing apparatus and a mechanism for transferring pigment from a reservoir to the cartridge automatically.
In a specific illustrative embodiment, the apparatus also includes an accounting device coupled to the enabling input, such that the accounting device activates the enabling input and thereby effects a transfer of pigment from the pigment reservoir to the pigment cartridge upon receipt of payment therefor.
In a more specific embodiment of the present invention, the device for engaging a pigment cartridge is keyed to accept a predetermined type of pigment cartridge. The predetermined type of pigment cartridge may be keyed based upon the color of pigment therein or based upon the type of printing device into which the cartridge is inserted.
In another refinement, the pigment reservoir includes a level sensor with an output indicative of the present level of reserve pigment in the pigment reservoir. Additionally, the inventive apparatus may include a device for communicating the present level of reserve pigment to a remote location for alerting of the need to replenish the pigment supply in the pigment reservoir. The communications may be enabled through the Internet or a local area network. In another refinement, the pigment cartridge has an electronic memory and a memory interface that operates to output usage data from the memory. The device for engaging a pigment cartridge further includes a data input positioned to engage the memory interface that operates to receive usage data therefrom.